Men in the Mountains

1

My SUV bumped to a stop as I arrived at the empty trailhead parking area. Excitement blurred with disappointment as I glanced at the empty seat next to me. Jared and I had been instant friends ever since we met in middle school, but he had seemed so distant lately. I couldn't help but blame it on his latest love interest. She was very high maintenance, and demanded a lot from Jared. He really liked her though, so didn't want to upset him by saying I thought she was being unreasonable. He really did seem happy when he was around her, so it was hard to argue that he shouldn't be devoting so much time to her.

It was at the point that I wasn't even surprised when he bailed on our plans anymore. Even this backpacking trip, which we had been planning for months, had been shrugged off in favor of some outing with his girlfriend and her friends. Preston had been very apologetic, but it was hard to not take it personally.

I had decided I couldn't just sit around all weekend, especially since my best friend wouldn't be able to spend it with me anyway. So here I was, about to start a week long backpacking trip all by myself. I tried to ignore the lonely feeling that was trying to sneak into my gut, and focused on the excitement about the trail I had chosen. It passed by several mountain lakes, had great views, and summited multiple peaks. In addition, the trail wasn't on any major maps, so coming across other people was incredibly rare, especially this late in the year.

I climbed out of my car and started gathering my things. I double-checked my pack for the 5th time today, making sure I had everything I would need to eat, get clean water, and communicate in case of an emergency. Everything seemed to be in order, so I pulled the pack on, and stepped back. I collided with a something solid, throwing me off-balance and almost knocking me to the ground. I heard a deep grunt behind me, and I let out a little yelp as I regained my footing. I spun around to find a mountain of a man eyeing me with disdain.

I hurriedly offered an apology. "Sorry, man! I thought I was alone up here!"

His expression softened behind his five o'clock shadow. "It's all good. I should've watched where I was going."

I opened my mouth to ask if he'd hiked up from the lower parking area, but he was already walking away, and I decided it was a stupid question anyway. Of course he had. I watched him run a hand through his shaggy black hair as he followed the trail behind some trees and out of sight. At the pace he was going, I doubted I'd see him again.

I double-checked to make sure I had everything, took a sip of water, locked my car, and headed up the trail after him. The morning light rapidly brightened, and the late August air grew warmer. I'm a pretty fit guy, but the trail was strenuous, and there wasn't even a slight breeze to cool me down. Before long, my shirt was soaked in sweat. My eyes stung from the sweat pouring into them, and I finally stopped at the top of a hill to take off my shirt. I wasn't usually the type to walk around shirtless, but I figured the chances of seeing anyone else up here were slim enough that it wouldn't be a big deal. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to work on my tan.

I checked my map, and decided I'd try to make it to the first lake by the late afternoon so that I could get a swim in before setting up camp. I knew I'd need to move a little faster, so I hurried down the trail.

I arrived at the lake earlier than I thought I would, but since I wasn't in a hurry to get further down the trail that day, I decided I would just stay there are relax. I found a good spot to pitch my tent, and left my pack there. Then I strolled down to the lake's edge and dipped my hand in the icy water. It felt amazing. I scanned the shore of the lake to make sure I was alone, then stripped naked and climbed up a small outcropping of rock. I walked to the edge of the rock, moving slowly and enjoying the sensation of the air moving along my bare skin. I noted a small flat island protruding from the center of the lake. Then I scanned the water below me and dove in. The water took my breath away at first, but it felt wonderful after so much heat. I surfaced, located the island, and leisurely paddled toward it.

When I reached the island, I lifted myself out of the water and onto the flat rocks. I lay sprawled on the warm stone, watching the clouds cross the sky until I started to worry that I was going to get a sunburn. I slipped back into the water, which was considerably less comfortable now that I had cooled off, and quickly swam back to my clothes. Just as I was about to reach the shore, I heard a loud splash behind me. I turned to see what had made the sound, but didn't see anything except ripples spreading out from the left side of the lake. Curious, I decided to go investigate. I waded through the water, moving quietly around the lake. I figured it must have been a deer or something, and I didn't want to scare it off by making noise.

As I neared the spot the ripples had come from, I moved slowly and silently, staying out of sight behind the large boulders in the water. Finally, I rounded an especially large boulder, and my eyes widened in shock. There on a flat, low rock, about 10 feet out into the water, was the man from the parking lot. He was completely naked, laying on his back, basking in the sun. His feet were pointed towards me, and I found my eyes following his massive calves and thighs up to his crotch, where a flaccid penis rested on large, low-hanging balls. I couldn't tell from this distance, but he either didn't have much hair down there, or he had trimmed it.

I couldn't see much of the rest of his body from my current vantage point, but I was sure it was him. I didn't dare move further from my hiding place, although I was surprised to find that I was desperate to see the rest of his body.

Afraid that moving through the water would be too loud, and being acutely aware of my own nudity, I cautiously stepped out of the lake and onto the grassy shore. I moved into the trees, hoping to get out of sight and hearing before circling back to my own campsite. Treading carefully to keep from stepping on anything painful, I found myself in a small, enclosed clearing. A small tent was set up on one side, and a fire ring had been formed using rocks from the lake. A pile of dry sticks was neatly stacked to one side. A backpack was propped up against a tree, and various items of clothing were strewn on top of the pack and the surrounding ground.

I recognized the shirt my mysterious trail companion had been wearing among the clothing. I moved towards it, and a pair of dark blue boxers caught my eye. They were visibly damp with sweat, as was the shirt. My dick twitched. I impulsively reached out and picked up the boxers. I just looked at them for a moment, before almost lifting them to my nose, inhaling deeply. The scent gave me a strange, but pleasant, light-headed sensation. I took another deep breath, and my dick rapidly hardened, lightly brushing against my thigh as it rose in front of me.

I continued to breathe deeply through the damp underwear pressed to my face, my eyes closed. Without realizing it, I started stroking my now-throbbing cock. The sharp scent filling my nose and lungs was ecstasy.

The sound of snapping branches caused my brain to catch up to what my body was doing. With a jolt, I dropped the boxers back on the ground. I stared at my engorged penis in horror.

"What the fuck is wrong with me?" I whispered aloud. "I'm acting like a total psychopath. "

Feeling suddenly self-conscious about my nudity (and my very obvious boner), I quickly left the clearing to return to my campsite. As I hurried away, I caught a glimpse of a very muscled arm and shoulder through the trees on the opposite side of the clearing. The man was much closer than I would have thought possible, and I realized he could have easily seen me. I crouched behind a fallen tree and looked back the way I had come.

I watched the man strut into the clearing. I admired the way his sun-bronzed skin stretched over his well-defined torso. My heart dropped when I realized he had walked right to the spot I had been standing, picked up his boxers, and was now scanning the trees in my direction. Apparently not seeing me, he looked back at his boxers, then raised them to his nose and took a tentative sniff. He shook his head slightly, then tossed them back onto the ground.

He then bent over his pack, revealing a shapely ass, with thick cheeks framing a slightly hairy hole. I couldn't look away from it, and I found my hand on my swollen dick again. The way his muscles flexed was enthralling.

He continued to rummage through his pack, while I stared helplessly at that mouthwatering backside. He finally straightened up, holding a fresh pair of briefs. He pulled them on, then covered them with his hiking shorts. He remained shirtless as he moved around his campsite, then squatted to start a fire.

I noticed then that the sun had dipped below the mountains, and that the light was fading. I needed to get back to my pack before it was too dark to see where I was going. Moving as quietly as possible, I backed into the trees. As soon as my shirtless friend was out of sight, I turned and moved quickly away, careful to protect my exposed, swinging package. I found my clothes where I had left them, then retraced my step to my pack, where I set up camp and spent a relaxing and uneventful night. I caught myself with my hand down the front of my pants more than once as I thought about the events of that afternoon, but quickly stopped what I was doing when I realized I was jerking off to a man.

***

The next morning, I decided to get an early start. I packed up my things and got on the trail before the sun peeked over the mountains. I hope to summit the first peak by noon, and make it to the lake on the other side before the sun when down.

I wasn't far from the summit when I heard shouting behind me. I had a good view from where I stood, and I could see a figure waving its arms a good distance behind me. I waved back. The figure stopped waving, then started moving toward me. I scanned the area around the figure, wondering if there was danger. I couldn't see anything, and wasn't sure what to do, so I found a place to sit and wait.

A few minutes later, the figure was near enough that I could clearly see it was the man from the lake. My nostrils tingled as I remembered what I'd done with his underwear. I shivered. I was suddenly nervous and... horny? What if he had seen me yesterday, and was coming to teach me a lesson? There was nobody around to help if he decided to get violent, and there wasn't a doubt in my mind that I would lose that fight if it happened.

I thought about running, but decided I would just have to try to explain myself to him.

When he reached me, he was breathing hard. He put his hands on his knees and coughed a couple times before standing straight and talking around his heavy breathing.

"Thanks for waiting, bro. I -" he took another few breaths. "I need to ask you a favor."

Without waiting for a response, he continued. "I'm a dumbass and dropped my water purifier. It's got a massive crack in the filter, and I'm almost out of water." More breathing. "Can I use yours to restock? I'm thinking I can probably carry enough to get back to the trailhead."

I thought for a moment. I really didn't want to go back to that lake, especially since we were slightly closer to the one on the other side of the summit at this point. But going further would just mean he'd need to carry more water with him to get back to the trailhead, and I knew that doing that was already going to be difficult at best.

Then a thought occurred to me. I was afraid to even suggest it, but it was an appealing idea.

The guy was just waiting for a response. I started by explaining that I didn't want to go back to the lake. "Do you know if there's a creek or something that's closer than the lake over this ridge?"

He looked worried. "As far as I know, there's not."

"Well I obviously can't just leave you out here without water. I would just as well kill you." I paused. "Were you planning on doing the whole trail?"

"Yes, but that's not really an option now."

My mind was screaming at me to shut up as I started speaking again. "There might be way to make it happen..." I took a deep breath. "Would you be interested in just sticking together for the rest of the trail? I wouldn't mind the company, and that would solve your water filtration problems too."

He was silent, seeming to consider the offer. My heart was thundering in my chest. "I guess that would be chill. You're sure you wouldn't mind? I know you probably came out here to be alone."

"Not at all! I had planned on coming with a friend, but he bailed on me. You'd be doing me a favor."

He gazed off into the distance. "You know what? That sounds like it would be a good time. Let's do it." He held out his hand. "Cooper."

"Preston." We made eye contact as we shook hands, and I noticed his eyes were bright blue. A strange feeling filled my stomach. "Sorry again for bumping into you back at the trailhead," I laughed awkwardly.

"Not a problem, Preston. You just surprised me a little."

I turned towards the peak. "Do you mind if I take the lead? I'm afraid you'll leave me in the dust otherwise."

Cooper gestured for me to go ahead, so I started off. I could hear him trudging along behind me, breathing steadily.